Top 10 Value Investing News Stories of 2008

It is always interesting to look back at the previous year to see how it has shaped us. Value investors should also have their own retrospective.

The top stories of the year at Value Investing News is a great starting place for this. Members of Value Investing News rated thousands of financial articles up or down throughout the year. The results of all these votes were tallied up today to determine the top value investing stories of 2008. Here are the top ten:

Great Businesses According to Buffett via www.fatpitchfinancials.com (+16)
The most interesting part of this year’s Berkshire Hathaway letter to shareholders was Warren Buffett’s discussion of what kinds of businesses turn him on. This article takes a closer look at the elements that make a great business according to Buffett.
Submitted by George on Thu, 2008-03-06 09:03.

Nine Notable Dividend Increases via www.dividendgrowthinvestor.com (+11)
Several large companies announced dividend increases over the past week. One of the most notable bullish calls came from the telecom sectors as AT&T (T) showed confidence in its business model by increasing its dividend payment to shareholders for the twenty fifth consecutive years. Despite the tough macroeconomic conditions AT&T (T) is still committed to raising its quarterly dividend.
Submitted by Dividend Growth Investor on Mon, 2008-12-15 10:13.

Berkowitz Sees Volatility As An Opportunity via money.cnn.com (+11)
“Volatility equates to opportunity and not risk,” said Bruce Berkowitz, one of the fund’s FAIRX three managers. “Risk is the chance for a permanent loss. This is the kind of environment that Warren Buffett has been patiently awaiting for many years.”
Submitted by SilverSlime on Thu, 2008-03-13 02:37.

I hope you caught these articles when they first came out. If you didn’t, now is the perfect time to catch up on these high quality value investing stories. The complete list of top value investing stories of the year is available if you wish to dig a bit deeper through the past highlights. You might even want to compare them to the top stories of 2007.

Dang Le wins the title of best value investing article and link submission for 2008 with Notes from Buffett Meeting 2/15/2008. As the author of 2008’s best value investing article of the year, Dang will receive a trophy badge he can proudly display on his site, Underground Value. His account of a Q&A session by Warren Buffett with students on February 15, 2008 was truly a unique and valuable news item only made possible by the advent of blogging.

2008 was a challenging year for all investors, but I believe it will set us up for great opportunities in 2009. I look forward to the year ahead. Happy New Year!